Economy: Venezuela, ALBA, Nicaragua - Past, Present & Future

In Nicaragua, ALBA became an everyday reality for millions of people. Though critics argue it’s impossible to account for the estimated $2.6 billion in ALBA aid that entered Sandinista coffers over the past six years, that money did allow the government to stabilize the country’s desperate energy sector by increasing power production and putting an end to daily blackouts. ALBA also provided electricity subsidies for low-consumption households, transportation subsidies for the working poor, and fellowships for university students. It funded road construction through dust-clouded barrios, provided roofing materials for leaky shanties, monthly cash handouts for thousands of government employees, and other assorted eleemosynary programs for the poor and not-so-poor.

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Politics: Nicaragua in Permanent Prayer for Chavez

Maduro, who warned incessantly about right-wing plots and foreign conspiracies to destabilize the country, seemed rather destabilized himself as he lashed out repeatedly at the opposition,  accusing them of being “traitors” and “enemies of the country” who were conspiring to create chaos in Venezuela to justify a foreign intervention by the “imperialists.” As proof of the international conspiracy, Maduro announced his government has expelled U.S. embassy official David Delmonaco for plotting to destabilize the country.

Maduro also talked about forming a specialized scientific commission to prove that Chávez’s cancer was the result of an “attack by his enemies.” Maduro said his government already has “lots of clues” to prove that Chávez’s cancer was some sort of act of biological warfare against the Venezuelan revolutionary leader.

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POLITICS: Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, Dead

"It has been reported in Venezuela that President Hugo Chavez has died after a long battle with cancer. Vice President Nicolas Maduro reportedly took to Venezuelan television to announce the 58-year-old had passed away.
He had been suffering an undisclosed pelvic cancer since June 2011 and had undergone four operations in Cuba. His last surgery was on December 11 and he had not been seen in public since."

This report could POTENTIALLY be huge for Nicaragua, as they depend on Venezuela for so much - particularly in terms of their relationship through ALBA.

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Politics: Nicaragua Warms to Chinese Investments

Nicaragua’s leftist government, which has diplomatic relations with Taiwan, is seeking to lure investments from China - in part to offset a possible loss of support from its regional ally Venezuela. 

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